SynthesisScientific reports2017
Sham Electroacupuncture Methods in Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Complementary therapies in the control of male lower urinary tract symptoms: A systematic review.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Electroacupuncture promotes the repair of lacrimal glands damage in dry-eye animal models by modulating the BDNF/CREB signaling pathway.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Electroacupuncture regulates the P2XPurinergic signalling · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture for mild-to-moderate dry eye: study protocol for a multicentre, randomised, single-blind, sham-controlled trial.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Anti-oxidative-initiated cognitive impairment amelioration in Alzheimer's disease model rats through preventive transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation.Integrative medicine research · 2023Article
- Electroacupuncture Alleviates Dry Eye Ocular Pain Through TNF-ɑ Mediated ERK1/2/P2XJournal of pain research · 2023Article
- Electroacupuncture inhibits the expression of HMGB1/RAGE and alleviates injury to the primary motor cortex in rats with cerebral ischemia.Translational neuroscience · 2023Article
- Article
- Electroacupuncture Increases the Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission Efficiency and Long-Term Plasticity to Improve Vascular Cognitive Impairment.Mediators of inflammation · 2022Article
- Acupuncture is ineffective for chronic low back pain? A critical analysis and rethinking.Frontiers of medicine · 2021Review
- Article
- Feasibility and Effect of Electroacupuncture on Cognitive Function Domains in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
- The Modulation of Working-Memory Performance Using Gamma-Electroacupuncture and Theta-Electroacupuncture in Healthy Adults.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
- Taping for conditions of the musculoskeletal system: an evidence map review.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sham electroacupuncture (EA) control is commonly used to evaluate the specific effects of EA in randomized-controlled trials (RCTs). However, establishing an inert and concealable sham EA control remains methodologically challenging. Here, we aimed to systematically investigate the sham EA methods. Eight electronic databases were searched from their inception to April 2015. Ten out of the 17 sham EA methods were identified from 94 RCTs involving 6134 participants according to three aspects: needle location, depth of needle insertion and electrical stimulation. The top three most frequently used types were sham EA type A, type L and type O ordinally. Only 24 out of the 94 trials reported credibility tests in six types of sham EA methods and the results were mainly as follows: sham EA type A (10/24), type B (5/24) and type Q (5/24). Compared with sham EA controls, EA therapy in 56.2% trials reported the specific effects, of which the highest positive rate was observed in type N (3/4), type F (5/7), type D (4/6) and type M (2/3). In conclusion, several sham EA types were identified as a promising candidate for further application in RCTs. Nonetheless, more evidence for inert and concealable sham EA control methods is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.